API Ecosystem

Administrative Systems has launched a new enterprise-grade API Gateway for managing access and visibility to APIs at Stanford. We also plan to release an API Catalog to make it easier to discover all the various APIs and how to request access to them. A Community of Practice will anchor conversations around best practices and how to do this well. Also conversation about what to do about 3rd party SaaS APIs.

Notes:

Presenters: Zach Chandler (DoR), Sameer Marella (AS)

Time: 10:15-11 AM

Notes: Aayush Neupane

Research Information Ecosystem = AS + DoR + SUL + SoM + ORA

Partnership among independent Stanford organizations

Need APIs to modularize services

Need to parter with AS to handle infrastructure

Could have bought own subscription for API/ESB but that is not a durable strategy, Central IT has to be involved

But it is bigger than research, API Ecosystem touches every IT application in the enterprise.

Every API at Stanford should be cataloged and visible to developers in "distributed IT". A given API might have restricted access, but at least all developers should know the API exists

In this case "API" == RESTful Web Services

Questions for the community

What system do you wish had an API?

What services do you wish the API had?

Support for system owners (aka business owners)

We want to help system owners become API owners, demystify that process and take away some of the work (Auth, etc.) while leaving business owners in control of policy and access

We need to build API sthat meet industry standards

Pragmatic REST

Need documentation schema (e.g. Swagger)

Need good developer experience (DX)

PBuild on what we learned from Apigee in 2012 (Rapid API Design Workshop)

Sameer Marella – UIT Administrative Systems

- Worked to come up with a hosting central API system

- Have hosted web services in the past

- Vision - Developers can discover existing API by using the centralized infrastructure

Architecture

- Microservices

- We are aware of antipatterns that could slow down the growth, actively trying to avoid those